Domestic Terror

Muzzammil Hassan reported his wife’s death to police on Feb. 12. Police found Aasiya Zubair Hassan decapitated at the office of the Orchard Park, N.Y. television station where she and her husband worked. Aasiya had served Muzzammil with divorce papers and an order of protection the week before her death. Her husband, the founder and CEO of the station, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Council doles out stack of cash (light 50 grand) to teen center

By Carolyn Carlson

Warehouse 508 supporters clapped when the Council voted to fund the teen center, but the exuberance they'd shown at previous meetings was missing. In a 5-4 vote, councilors approved Warehouse 508's money but whacked $50,000 from a promised $200,000 contract to turn the old Ice House strip club into a performance space and arts program for Albuquerque youth. Members of Mayor Martin Chavez' administration at the Wednesday, Feb. 18 meeting agreed to cut the cash to $150,000 to get Warehouse 508 off the ground.

Since "sex" is apparently no longer dirty in these enlightened times, the last three-letter word never to be uttered in polite conversation seems to be “tax.” At least, this must be the accepted etiquette in the halls of state government in Santa Fe, where even the governor’s appointed secretary of tax and revenue goes to great lengths to avoid the term.

Dateline: New Zealand—An octopus who escaped from his tank at a New Zealand aquarium and survived five days on the run will be released back into the wild. Last month, Sid the octopus mysteriously vanished from his tank at a Dunedin aquarium. Five days later, he was spotted by a staff member making a dash for the door. Sid was hungry but otherwise fine. He is believed to have spent at least some of his fugitive time hiding in a drain that pumps fresh sea water into the aquarium. The aquarium’s senior aquarist, Matthew Crane, said Sid has done his time and will be freed. “We are realizing he is getting a little older in his life and may be searching for a mate, so that’s why we’ve gone ahead and set his release.”

[Re: Letters, “Offense Taken,” Feb. 12-18] Mr. Efroymson, to address your "truth": You claim that Israel withdrew from Gaza two years ago, but what you fail to mention is that Israel still holds the keys to the prison that is Gaza, created by Israel. Mr. Efroymson, can you say “blockade”?